My Pants Don't Fit!
It was with great reluctance that Amyla graduated from the state of 'dozing' to that of 'half-awake.' She had been lying there in a mild semi-sleep for awhile. Some part of her mind registered that she really should have been up and awake, but exhaustion and comfort overwhelmed her sense of duty for the moment. It was not until the sunlight began to filter in through the blinds and fall across her face that she began to stir. Lying in a loose fetal position and facing the window, Amyla twitched one eye open, giving the sun-lit blinds a murderous look. Well, now that she was awake, she might as well get up out of bed. Whatever had happened to sleeping in on one of her blessed days off?
She rolled rather awkwardly onto her back, groaning at the ache that roused in her lower back. While she as grateful that she did not suffer from morning sickness or a great deal of dizziness, these aches and pains were getting to be quite a drag. Her range of mobility was much more limited, and she hated having a hard time bending down. Her back simply hurt. Aiodhan had been a good sport about it thus far, helping her out around the house as best he could. He had been even more excited than her on the day the official test results came back. He had swept her up into his arms with his usual energy and had cradled her like a baby for nigh on an hour, pressing his face to hers and murmuring incoherent words of love and adoration in her ear. Amyla had been too busy weeping to notice if he was weeping as well, but if she knew her man as well as she claimed to, then she knew he was crying.
Speaking of Aiodhan....
She reached an arm over toward his side of the bed, hoping to come in contact with his warm, sleeping form. Instead, her arm fell on cold sheets. She initially felt a surge of grumpiness for him having abandoned her in bed, but the hard feelings went away when she rolled onto her side to face the quasi-empty bed. A folded note was resting on his pillow, her name scrawled across it in a familiar script. She picked it up, using one hand to shake it flat so she could read it.
Sorry to leave you in bed, May, but the kids were up and about. What did you want me to do, leave them to run the house? You looked tired, so I thought I'd let you sleep. And go easy on the sweets, would you? I had a real tough time rolling you off me this morning.
Amyla snorted, not in the least bit miffed by Aiodhan's tactlessness. Yep, that was her man all right.
She tossed the covers back and reluctantly pushed herself to a sitting position, grumbling as she felt another ache in the base of her spine. She made a mental note to barter with Aiodhan for a massage later. The dragon-man was particularly good at giving and getting them. He had gotten an infinite number of them from Amyla when he had first come into her life, when his wings had been injured after his little stunt in the storm. He had been trying to make the scores even by giving her footrubs and back massages at every opportunity but hadn't been able to catch up to her in numbers until her pregnancy. Now she got backrubs on an almost hourly basis if she wanted them. Aiodhan didn't mind. He usually got well rewarded for his efforts later.
That thought made her grin as she swung her legs off the bed and cauiously stood, holding on to her bedpost for support and tossing the note on her bedside table. She barely managed to stifle a yawn as she made her way toward the shower, shedding pajamas into the clothes hamper along the way. The shower helped to wake her up, even though the warmth made her want to stay. She eventually did get out of the warm water and dried herself off as quickly as she could, shivering in the cold. She had just wrapped herself in her towel and had emerged from the bathroom to find clothes when Kari's voice echoed from downstairs in the kitchen.
"Come on.... please? I don't want to have to learn this stuff by myself! Can't Evan learn math with me, pleeease?"
Amyla grinned and tried to listen to Aiodhan's quiet and indiscernable response, digging through her drawers to find suitable clothing. She pulled out one of her pairs of jeans, her favorite pair, of course. She hadn't worn them in ages, but today was as good a day as any since she would be helping Aiodhan with some of the outside renovations. Besides, if Kimie and the rest of the Catclaw clan did come over, she didn't want to be dressed all in sweatpants. I can at least look semi-decent... she thought as she shed her towel to get dressed.
"Okay, okay.... we'll see, but we have to talk to Kimie about that too," Aiodhan said in an attempt to pacify the irate Ancient child who stood beside him, three-fingered hands planted on her little green hips. The dragon-man sighed and turned back to writing his to-do list for the day, noting that it was much longer than he'd thought. Ah well.... it had to be done.
Kari did not look pleased but was at least satisfied for the moment and wandered off, most likely to build something with her beloved Legos. She had been getting increasingly more fond of the things and increasingly more irritable, both of which slightly bothered Aiodhan. Despite her choice to be female, Kari had shown more masculine behaviors, such as her tendency to fight and dislike for all things 'girly'. The moodiness was bothersome as well. He supposed she was entering her form of puberty. Splendid.... just what he needed. A teenager and a pregnant wife under the same roof.... what was he getting himself into?
Just as he was about to add "Fix back gutters" to his ever-growing list, a loud and desperate cry of "Aiodhan!" echoed from upstairs. The pencil and notepad flew in opposite directions, and the chair tumbled over with a loud crash as he practically launched himself out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He charged up the stairs on all fours, wings pinned tightly to his back. He fretted for the entire seven and a half seconds it took him to get up into his and Amyla's bedroom, worrying constantly about what could be wrong. Had she fallen in the shower? Had a panic attack? Had another miscarriage? Gone into early labor?
He dashed into the bedroom only to find Amyla standing almost fully dressed, gazing in shock at the zipper on her jeans. As he stood there, still shaking in fear for what might have been wrong, she repeatedly tried to zip and button the jeans. Each attempt failed miserably. Her abdomen simply did not want to be contained by the restrictive pants.
She turned her face up to him, her eyes wide. "B-b-but... they fit last time! They won't close! I can't fit into them," she cried rather pathetically, and Aiodhan sighed in relief, smiling at her frustration. She saw his smile, and her expression instantly transformed into a scowl. "What're you smirking at?! You're not the one who is now fat!" she grumbled, continuing to look surly even as her mate ambled over to put his arms around her.
Aiodhan smiled broadly and buried his face in her hair, embracing her ever so gently. One hand snuck beneath her shirt to splay over her belly, his thumb gently rubbing over her pale skin. "Hmmm... and why are you fat?" he asked, feeling her squirm lightly in his grasp.
"The baby, but.... I just didn't expect to not be fitting into my clothes this soon. It... it's just so soon!" she protested quietly.
The dragon-man felt her relax a bit in his arms, and then she nestled closer, snuggling her head into his chest above his heart. He couldn't help his smile, his excitement nearly taking his heart rate through the roof. Finally... after so many miscarriages and so many failed attempts, they had done it. He pressed his hand gently against her abdomen, running it lightly over the gentle bulge. She was pregnant, and it was real. Their baby was real. Their baby.... The thought made tears gather in his eyes.
"It's so real that it doesn't seem real..." Amyla murmured suddenly against his chest, startling him from his thoughts and tickling him with her breath.
He grinned and ruffled her hair with his free hand to cover up his own awkward realization of their situation. "Yeah, I know. I guess that means you need to go shopping for some maternity clothes, eh?" he asked, just barely dodging her swat. "Hey, now! I'm trying to be considerate!"
"Yes.... very considerate!" Amyla growled, pulling away from his embrace and stalking over to her dresser to find a new pair of pants to wear. "Ugh, and these were my favorite jeans too!"
She looked too cute, bent over with her back to him, searching through her drawers for an elastic-waisted pair of pants. He couldn't resist the temptation and snuck in for a quick pinch before promptly scampering out of the room and down the stairs, ducking the pair of socks she flung at his head. Well, at least some things about her hadn't changed....
